Florida Rep.-elect Ross Spano announced his senior staff Thursday, quieting concerns that the freshman Republican would not be able to fill his office amid looming legal questions about his campaign financing and reports that job candidates have been alarmed by the role of a controversial donor in the hiring process.

Spano faces bipartisan calls for inquiries by the Federal Election Commission and the House Ethics Committee into how he funded his campaign to replace Rep. Dennis A. Ross, who retired, in the 15th District.

Rep.-elect Ross Spano, R-Fla., has not been sworn into Congress yet, but already faces bipartisan calls for an inquiry into his alleged campaign finance violations. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

The campaign finance issues looming around Rep.-elect Ross Spano, R-Fla., have grown more troublesome in recent days with new questions about the role of a longtime friend in funding his campaigns and hiring his new Congressional staff.

Spano has not been sworn into Congress yet, but already faces bipartisan calls for inquiries by the Federal Election Commission and the House Ethics Committee into how he funded his campaign to replace in Rep. Dennis A. Ross in the 15th District.

Florida member-elect Ross Spano acknowledged he may have violated campaign finance law and promised to repay $180,000 in personal loans by the end of week in a letter to federal regulators.

The freshman Republican and his lenders now recognize they may have transgressed rules against straw donations “in violation of the Federal Campaign Finance Act,” according to a letter from his attorney to the Federal Election Commission dated Friday and first reported by the Tampa Bay Times.

Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke has run a tough race against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, but it would be a major upset if he won. Such electoral dynamics make it hard for Democrats to take the majority in the Senate next week. In the House, though, they are favored to win the majority, Rothenberg writes. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

ANALYSIS — Predictions? Not from me. But I do have expectations as Election Day approaches, and I am happy to share them.

I expect Republicans to hold on to their Senate majority, quite possibly even adding a seat or two.

Welcome to At the Races! You can keep track of House and Senate races with this weekly newsletter by subscribing here. We want to hear what you think. Email us at attheraces@cqrollcall.com with your questions, tips or candidate sightings. — Simone Pathé, Bridget Bowman and Stephanie Akin

Voters in three states — Arizona, Florida and Oklahoma — head to the polls Tuesday in some of this year’s latest nominating contests, including a critical Senate race and about half a dozen open-seat primaries.

Arizona hosts the most high-profile race with Republicans choosing their nominee for the open Senate seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Jeff Flake.

Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., says a promised July vote on an agriculture guest worker bill did not happen because it would've failed and that members will spend August continuing to build support for the measure. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Downplaying his failure to deliver on a promised July vote on a bill to expand an agriculture guest worker program, Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Wednesday it would’ve failed.

House Republicans plan to spend their August recess working on getting the votes to pass the bill, the Wisconsin Republican said on “Fox & Friends.“

Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., leaves the Capitol in the rain after the final vote of the week on Friday. He plans to spend his weekend continuing negotiations over immigration legislation, striving to reach an agreement on changes before a rescheduled vote next week. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

The House Republican Conference is still struggling internally to coalesce around a bill that members from the various GOP factions negotiated in recent weeks, dubbed the compromise bill. Republican leaders had initially scheduled a vote on the measure for Thursday, and then thought about Friday. Ultimately, they decided to push it off into the next week to negotiate further changes.